


Inside the Den

by sodakooh



Category: Camp Camp (Web Series)
Genre: Also Give Gwen A Break, Angst, Fluff and Angst, Jasper Has A Phobia, M/M, Panic Attacks, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, They are so cute, Whump
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-17
Updated: 2018-06-17
Packaged: 2019-05-24 12:22:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,291
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14954624
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sodakooh/pseuds/sodakooh
Summary: Jasper hates hikes, but he loves David.





	Inside the Den

**Author's Note:**

> TW: Panic attacks—PTSD
> 
> please enjoy this self-indulgent fic.

Time was a curious thing, wasn’t it?

 

Sometimes, it raced by like a rabbit being chased by a dog, only seen as a blur passing by. Other times, it crawled slowly like a wounded snake. What was worse was that you never knew when it would morph into either creature.

 

One thing that was for certain, however, with time; it was unstoppable.

 

Things were inevitable. You couldn’t escape the slimy grasp of time as it dragged you closer and closer to the things you avoided most.

 

That’s exactly where Jasper was; right in its grips.

  
  
  


A year. Jasper managed to spend an entire year at Camp Campbell avoiding going on hikes.

 

Why, you ask? Well, that’s because of Jasper’s crippling fear--crippling fear of bears.

 

He’s seen therapist after therapist, trying in any way possible to get rid of this fear. Most of his friends told him to not worry about it since he wouldn’t see any bears.

 

Oh, but how naive.

 

Jasper knew very well that during the summer, he worked alongside two other adults in the middle of the woods. He worked in the middle of the nowhere at a camp--an awful, scandalous, and downright crummy summer camp that scarred him at a young age. Jasper often thought that the state of the camp reflected the owner, and in all honesty he found himself wondering why he kept going there.

 

Of course, once meeting up with a certain auburn-haired male, everything seemed worth it.

 

But that was besides the point.

 

Jasper continuously tried to fix himself, and to fix the damage that the godforsaken camp inflicted, but it seemed hopeless. He couldn’t ever see a live bear without losing all control of himself and his thoughts. Even looking at those three scars across his torso--the ones that always looked like they had just healed that day--made him anxious and paranoid. Because of the situation, Jasper always took the time to cover them up with foundation. He was well aware that some people enjoyed their scars and showing them off, but Jasper simply wasn’t one of those people.

 

One person, and one person alone knew about the scars, however. In a way, he was the one who prevented them from being any worse.

 

And said person stood next to Jasper, cheery and bright.

 

“Alright, campers,” David clapped, “is everyone ready?” David seemed to be particularly excited that morning, which Jasper could understand meant a select few things:

 

  1. David had the “winning counsellor of the year award” dream.
  2. David had the “the campers finally accepted him as a role model” dream.
  3. David had the “the campers finally told him they love Camp Campbell and everything it stands for” dream.



 

Jasper didn’t say anything as David helped out with a few of the kids, answering questions and helping Nerris,a young girl who loved LARPing, find her glasses which she had apparently lost, causing her Dexterity levels to go down by -20.

 

With a small yawn, Jasper turned to Gwen--a fellow camp counsellor. He noticed that she looked 10 times more exhausted than usual, and Jasper arched a brow at her. “What’s wrong, Gwen?” he asked, nudging her shoulder slightly as he noticed she was falling asleep standing up.

 

Gwen rubbed her face as she replied. “David kept me up all night, rambling on and on about today’s plans…” she muttered. Jasper was going to stop her there and ask her what exactly those plans were, but she continued. “And then I woke up this morning only to find out that the coffee machine was broken, so when I asked who was fixing it, the Quartermaster said he was,” she rambled, getting angrier and angrier, “so  _ I _ pointed out that he would be more productive getting our supplies while I fixed it,, and do you know what the guy told me?!”

 

Jasper flinched a little. He opened his mouth to reply, but Gwen simply shouted, “He told me that maybe I could be more productive with my mouth, and do something other than spew nonesense!”

 

It took everything inside of Jasper not to laugh at Gwen’s story. He couldn’t help but crack a small smile, but didn’t laugh. “Oh… wow,” he said.

 

Gwen huffed. “I didn’t even know the old geezer had something like that in him.”

 

Jasper noticed David waving his arms around to get Nerris’ attention, shouting something about her dexterity glasses being with him. “Hey, uh, what are we… doing anyways? There are bags that look… kind of heavy, and the only one who doesn’t seem excited is Max,” Jasper asked, looking at the campers who all had small bags of their own, then at a particularly angry and bitter-looking camper.

 

“David says I’m not allowed to say.”

 

Jasper arched a brow. “What? Why not?”

 

“It’s a surprise!” Gwen said sarcastically, making jazz hands. “He didn’t threaten me or anything but he just seemed,” she yawned, “ _ very _ determined. It was almost heartwarming.”

 

Jasper looked at Gwen, then David, then Gwen. He had a bad feeling about this--bags, excited David, and surprise pointed to one thing, and that thing made Jasper a little worried.

 

Okay, very worried.

 

Jasper tugged on Gwen’s arm, pulling her a few feet away from the group. “Gwen… please don’t tell me that… that we’re going on a hike,” he murmured, making sure that David hadn’t heard him or even seen him acting shady.

 

That definitely would make some questions arise.

 

Gwen did the same as Jasper, then nodded. “Mm, but that’s all I’m telling you. I don’t want to spoil the  _ entire _ thing,” she said, crossing her bare arms over her chest.

 

As soon as Jasper got the answer he had been reluctant to hear, he felt as though a rock had fallen into his stomach.

 

A large, heavy, awful rock made of guilt and regret and panic.

 

Jasper went up to David, anxiety making his throat close. “Hey, uh, Davey,” he started, “I… I just remembered that Mr. Campbell asked me to… do… something.”

 

David turned around and frowned. “Aw, come on, Jas. You rarely ever come on hikes with us. Just this once?”

 

And then it hit him. David was giving him the  _ look. _

 

The look that made Jasper instantly feel 10 times worse for even mentioning other plans.

 

Jasper opened his mouth to protest, but the hesitantly closed it and forced a smile. “Okay… fine,” he agreed, hands fiddling with the collection of string bracelets on his left wrist, courtesy of the campers.

 

David immediately cheered up, pulling Jasper into a hug as a shade of pink crossed his freckle-covered face. “Thank you!” he chirped, and Jasper couldn’t help but compare David’s behaviour to that of a puppy.

 

In that moment, that split second where both Jasper and David held onto each other, Jasper felt his anxiousness fade, and he thought to himself,  _ this… might actually be okay. _

 

Naive.

 

The group was 20 minutes into the hiking, and Jasper could barely breathe. He kept looking left and right for something, any sign of danger, but never found anything solid. Instead, his mind played tricks on him, causing Jasper to freeze and flinch occasionally.

 

“Alright, campers! We’ll take a break here,” David announced from the front of the group. The kids all sighed, then plopped themselves in the shade of some nearby trees.

 

Jasper, however, still stood with his arms crossed and body completely rigid. David noticed this and waved to the co-counsellor.

 

_ They’re somewhere. They’re somewhere here. _

 

“Jas?” David called out, noticing he wasn’t reacting at all.

 

_ They’re here. They’re here. They’re here. _

 

“Jas!” David tried again, beginning to walk closer.

 

_ They’re here and there going to get me. They’re going to get David. They’re here they’re here they’re here— _

 

“Jasper!” David called, shaking the man’s shoulder. Jasper flinched, finally snapping out of his daze, and looked at David. A look or fear was in his eyes but it was quickly replaced with embarrassment.

 

“Sorry. What’s up, Davey?” Jasper asked, hoping that David wouldn’t ask about his little moment.

 

David kept his hands on Jasper’s shoulders, squeezing them gently in what he hoped would be a reassuring way. “What just happened?”

 

Jasper chuckled softly. “Nothing. I was just thinking about some stuff,” he said, dismissing his emotions.

 

David smiled again, then pulled away a little. “Alrighty,” he said, “well the kids are doing an activity about the plants. How about we take a little walk? Gwen can handle this.”

 

If it were any other person on the face of the earth to suggest something like that, Jasper would have said no. Jasper could barely walk in the woods with a group of people—how could he function properly when knowing there was just one other person?

 

David was different, however.

 

For some odd reason, Jasper felt safe with him. Perhaps it was because David was the one to rescue him from the bears, or perhaps David was just one of those people--those people who you  just feel comfortable with all the time.

 

In any case, Jasper ended up saying yes.

 

The two walked away from the scattered children, close enough that they still heard Gwen’s frustrated, “stop eating things”.

 

Jasper smiled softly, then spoke up. “I didn’t expect you to plan a hike so early into the summer,” he said, turning his head to David.

 

The male giggled in response. “Well, I was just so excited! This is your second year back, and I really wanted to do something special.”

 

The two of them made small talk and walked for a little while before they figured it was time to head back. David picked up his bag and turned back to Jasper, but something sent a shiver down his spine at the other’s face.

 

Jasper was frozen in terror, eyes locked onto something nearby. His blue orbs filled with panic stared at a cave—no, a den.

 

Jasper instantly recognized the den. The place he remembered so vividly as dark, and damp, and so spacious that he could hear echoes of the ferocious roars 5 seconds after they were omitted.

 

Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale.

 

Jasper couldn’t do it. His throat began closing up as images flashed in front of his eyes. He felt the piercing pain of the gashes in his chest; the pain in his throat as he shouted and screamed for someone, anyone to save him; the pain from all of the fear squeezing his lungs.

 

David, during all this, immediately dropped all of his things and rushed next to Jasper, trying to do everything in his power to calm him down. “Jasper? Jasper, shh, breathe,” he soothed, taking the man’s hand and squeezing it. Jasper gripped David’s hand tightly as if he were clinging to a lifeline, clinging on to the last speck of sanity left.

 

Jasper had begun to cry silently, tears streaming down his cheeks and dripping down his chin. David led Jasper to a nearby log and had him sit down, never letting go of his hand. “Jasper, it’s okay. You’re okay,” David tried again, pulling Jasper near his chest and rubbing his back in what he hoped was a comforting way. It appeared that it had been working because Jasper finally opened his mouth, muttering soft, “it hurts” over and over again.

 

Jasper’s sobs broke David’s heart. “Jasper, it’s okay. You’re going to be okay. I’m right here with you. Nothing bad is going to happen.” He spoke in a smooth and soft tone, and somehow Jasper seemed to have calmed down, even if it was a fraction of a bit.

 

In this state of mind, hearing David’s voice through the piercing roars that his mind produced had brought a sense of calm that was hard for Jasper to find on his own. 

 

Even that day, after he managed to distract the bears long enough for Jasper to escape, David was right there next to him--holding his hand, comforting him, telling him everything was going to be okay.

 

Slowly but surely, the tears stopped falling and Jasper’s breathing evened out. David never let go of Jasper, however, but rather kept the other’s body near him. David wasn’t exactly sure what had happened inside of Jasper’s mind, but what was for certain was that Jasper needed someone to comfort him and help him through that moment.

 

“I’m sorry,” Jasper muttered with a hoarse voice. His hands still shook a little, but this time it was out of embarrassment.

 

David smiled softly. “It’s okay, Jas… You don’t need to apologize to me,” he replied, gently stroking his hair. “But… what was that about?”

 

Jasper hesitantly pulled away from David, and it took everything out of the readhead to not let out a small whine from the lack of contact. “I… I, uh,” Jasper tried to speak, but his voice trembled so he had to take a breath. “Ever since when we were kids at camp, and I got attacked by those bears… I’ve had a fear of them. I didn’t want to tell you because… well… I didn’t want you to worry.”

 

David shook his head. “Jasper, please, you shouldn’t feel like that. You don’t have to hide anything from me,” he explained in a soft tone. “I care about you. If I knew about your fear, I never would have asked you to come along.”

 

Jasper pulled David into another hug. This one was different than the others and conveyed a different message.

 

It was a thank you. A “thank you for  supporting me, and always being there.” 

 

David was the first to pull away. He wiped Jasper’s tear-stained cheeks, then placed a gentle and soft kiss on his forehead.

 

“Come on, Jas. The campers are waiting for us.”

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading!! please fuel me with comments <3


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